Sound the Shofar!

Test your knowledge about this biblically mandated instrument and its significance to the Jewish observations during the High Holy Days.

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Question 1 of :

Question 1 The shofar is the Jewish trumpet traditionally made from the _____ of a ram.

The curved horn of an animal, most commonly a ram, is used to make this ceremonial trumpet whose call is meaningful to the Jewish people.

Hooves
Horn
Tail
Wool

Question 2 The first shofar was made by _____.

After God spared Isaac’s life, the boy’s father Abraham used the sacrificial ram that the Lord provided and crafted two shofars from its horns.

Adam
Noah
Abraham
Moses

Question 3 Of the two shofars Abraham made atop Mt. Moriah, the first was to be blown on which other mountain?

The first of the two shofars which Abraham made was to be blown atop Mt. Sinai when God gave His Word, the Torah, to His people.

Carmel
Sinai
Mount of Olives
Mt. Hermon

Question 4 The second shofar was meant to be blown when?

While the first of Abraham’s shofars was blown when God gave His Word, the second will be sounded at the end of time.

Careation of the Holy Temple
Battle of Jericho
Fall of the Roman Empire
Judgment Day

Question 5 On which Jewish holiday can the shofar traditionally be heard?

On Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, the sound of the shofar recalls the binding of Isaac and reminds us that God wants us to sacrifice our lives for Him, not through dying for Him, but rather through living for Him.

Rosh HashanahSukkotPurim
Passover

Question 6 Three sounds are made on the shofar. The first is called tekiah and is a long, smooth blast to announce the coming of the _____.

Reminiscent of the trumpets that once heralded mortal kings, tekiah is the announcement of the King of all Kings.

Morning
The Prophet Elijah
King
Night

Question 7Shevarim is the name of the second shofar sound, meaning “broken” in Hebrew. It is the sound of _____.

The Jewish sages taught that Rosh Hashanah “is to be a day of sobbing for you,” referencing Deborah’s song of praise to God in the book of Judges: “Through the window peered Sisera’s mother; behind the lattice she cried out, ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?’” (5:28).

Glass
Weeping
Singing
Laughter

Question 8 The final type of shofar sound is a joyful, happy one called teruah and consists of how many blasts?

“Happy is the people that know the sound of the teruah” (Psalm 89:15, Jewish Masoretic Text) says the psalmist of this, the third type of shofar sound that is made up of nine short blasts and is intended to wake us on Rosh Hashanah from our year-round spiritual slumber.

Three
Six
Seven
Nine

Question 9 While the shofar is traditionally made from a ram’s horn, it can also be crafted from the horn of any kosher animal, except for the _____.

A shofar can be made from any kosher animal except for a cow, as the cow represents the biblical sin of the golden calf, while the shofar stands for repentance.

Cow
Deer
Goat
Sheep

Question 10 The final shofar blast, called a tekiah gedolah, is made both at the end of the Rosh Hashanah service and at the conclusion of which other Jewish holiday?

While Rosh Hashanah brings in the High Holy Days – the holiest time of year for the Jewish people – Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar and completes the High Holy Days.

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